Lin Tie has opened the riverbank dock to outsiders, allowing cargo and passenger ships as well as ferries to berth here. The goods produced on Prison Island, such as cloth, salted fish, iron tools, and vegetables, are also transported by Jiyun Society to merchants in the city for sale. Although it's still inconvenient to come from Donghua Gate due to the unfinished road construction, the prices at the river mouth are lower than those in Quyang Town. The commercial ships and ferries berthing on this side of the riverbank collect low wharfage fees, and there are no other officials extorting money, so the riverbank dock has attracted some crowd after being open for over a dozen days.

  There are no wine houses, inns and other shops on this side. No outsiders can stay overnight. Thousands of people, including migrant workers, military dependents, and local young men from Dongyang, gather here. Nearby, there is a corner tower with lanterns shining brightly. However, after the evening shift, the area inside the river mouth fence appears to be very lively. Only towards the late hours, there are no ferry boats docked at the pier, and the vast majority of pedestrians inside the river mouth fence wear coarse cloth shirts. Two scholars wearing long shirts stand on the riverbank pier, gazing out at the Chongshan River, naturally drawing attention to themselves.

  Lin Xie got on the boat and returned to the river mouth. From a distance, he noticed the two scholars, and saw that there were several robust men with knives around them, presumably their bodyguards. After the riverbank dock opened, it was only natural that people of all kinds could enter from this side of the river mouth without being blocked. Only after disembarking did Lin Xie get a clear look at the faces of the two scholars. The young scholar was thirty-one or thirty-two years old, with a thin and long face shape, a short beard, wearing a long shirt, and slightly hunched back; the middle-aged scholar was nearly fifty years old, with a pale face and thin mustache, narrow and long eyes, standing tall and proud, with an extraordinary air about him.

  Li Zhuo's vanguard had entered the borders of Jiangning and was advancing slowly, calculating their journey, they would arrive in Jiangning City in about two days, like a snail; The Surveillance Commissioner's office had also received secret reports that Li Zhuo did not follow the same route as the vanguard, but instead took a shortcut with three or five attendants after passing Xianxia Ridge. The Surveillance Commissioner's office was also sweating bullets and, under the pretext of clearing bandits, dispatched all the thousand-odd mounted troops under their command to the southern line. Three days ago, when Lin saw these two men standing at the bow of a light boat with another person, he had his suspicions; now that he had approached them, seeing that the middle-aged scholar's appearance was identical to Li Zhuo's as described by others, he realized that Li Zhuo had indeed arrived in Jiangning first. He thought to himself: Could that young man be Gao Zongting, the famous scholar from western Zhejiang? It was said that after Dong Yuan and Li Zhuo fell out, Gao Zongting also left the army; unexpectedly, he appeared together with Li Zhuo in Jiangning.

  Following Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting's gaze, the Dongyang ship was sailing on the surface of the water in Tianpeng Bay, with a white wave trailing behind it. Lin Fu didn't know how long these two had been standing here watching the Dongyang ship train. Zhou Pu remained on Yu Island to assist Zhao Hu in training new recruits and guards, but Lin Fu also had guards accompanying him when he came ashore. Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting also had sword-carrying guards following them. As they approached each other, it was the guards who became alert first, and only then did Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting turn around. Gao Zongting bowed to Lin Fu and said: "Lord Lin, may I have a word with you?"

  "What instructions does General Gao have for us?" Lin Xie asked with a bow.

  Gao Zongting was slightly taken aback, not expecting their identities to be seen through by Lin Xuan at a glance. Li Zhuo, however, smiled and pointed at the Dongyang number sailboat in the Chao Tian Tang, saying: "I happened to be watching from here, and it seems that the Dongyang number and the four-wheel ship are practicing water camp drills, I suppose you also know about military affairs?"

  "Report to the commander, Chaotian Lake's vast waters have always been a haven for bandits and thieves. It is essential to be well-trained in anti-banditry and anti-thievery measures. As for the water camp training methods, I've also figured out some rough ideas on my own...”

  Lin Tie said that it was common for powerful families and clans to have private armies these days. His use of water camp training methods with the Dongyang Corps wasn't a shocking or unusual move. The only regrettable thing was that he couldn't equip heavy artillery on the Dongyang Corps.

  He found it strange in his heart: when did Li Zhuo arrive at Jiangning, and how did he know so much about the river mouth situation? He glanced at Gao Zongting and knew that Li Zhuo wouldn't easily leave the military, but Gao Zongting could be his eyes and ears.

  "Hmm," Li Zhuo responded lightly, seemingly deep in thought as he gazed out at the vast expanse of water stretching towards the sky. "Looking at this boat, there are horizontal compartments between the cabins, and the sides are made of sturdy wood. Such a sturdy vessel seems somewhat overqualified for cruising on the Yangzi River..."

  Inland rivers have small waves, and some sailboats don't even use a keel to save on construction costs; the Dongyang uses a watertight compartment structure, with the entire ship divided into eleven compartments. If one compartment is damaged and water enters, it will not affect other compartments. The watertight compartments are separated horizontally by thick wooden materials, which also increases the horizontal stability of the hull. In addition, the Dongyang has used long wooden materials of the same specifications as the keel to reinforce the hull on both sides. Without a doubt, Lin Xuan's purchase of the Dongyang and his request for reinforcement at the Longjiang Shipyard were for ocean navigation; if it only sailed in inland rivers, it would be a waste of good material.

  Lin Xie didn't know that Li Zhuo also had a deep understanding of boats and ships, and he didn't dare to speak nonsense in front of such a person. He thought for a moment before saying: "Thanks to the great achievements of the governor, the war in the southeast has subsided, and the imperial court can once again rely on the finances of the southeast. The prosperity of the canal is expected to return soon. However, over the past decade, the inland waterways have fallen into disrepair. Whether it's the Baisha River or the Shiliang River, the water is too shallow for large ships to pass through, and even if the southeast wants to supply more grain, it would be difficult to restore the old situation in a short period of time. The only option is to take the sea route. The purchase of the Dongyang number by Jiyun Society was made in preparation for transporting rice to Haitian. Apart from the Dongyang number, Jiyun Society also purchased two more large ships..." Chángshān Island was his most closely guarded secret, and as long as his relationship with Chángshān Island wasn't exposed, no one could see through this lie of his.

  "Not counting other things, the normal annual grain transportation from the southeast to Yanjing should be over 6 million dan, and the actual cost of grain transportation each year is nearly 3 million taels of silver. This does not include the daily dredging costs of the canal route. When there are floods or droughts in the north, it is precisely when the north needs a large amount of rice for disaster relief that the canal route often becomes blocked due to flooding or shallow water, making the disaster situation even more severe." Gaotongting listened as Linzuo spoke about Jiyun Society's intention to use large sailboats to transport grain to the north via sea routes, discussing the pros and cons of inland waterway transportation.

  Lin Xian answered: "During the Qingtang period, the court also changed to sea transportation, and a large number of eight-masted giant sails were built during that time. One ship could carry 30,000 to 40,000 stones. However, at that time, in order to save on shipbuilding costs, the silver allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to each shipyard was limited, and there were repeated deductions, resulting in the eight-masted giant ships having relatively weak resistance to wind and waves, making sea transportation prone to capsizing accidents. In addition, many people in the court and the countryside relied on inland water transportation for a living, so they naturally attacked sea transportation with all their might, and sea transportation was cancelled after five years of trial... However, from my humble perspective, it will take more than one or two years to rectify the inland waterway. After the war in the southeast is over, the amount of grain transported to Yanjing will increase greatly, and the drawbacks of inland waterway transportation may become apparent, and I fear that it will even worsen the grain shortage in the north. Merchants transporting goods by sea have a lot to gain."

  "Oh, I see. That's quite a farsighted move..." Li Zhuo replied lightly, without any particular expression, making it impossible for others to guess what he was thinking.

  Haitian is located two hundred miles east of Yanjing. If there are goods transported by sea from the south to Yanjing, Haitian is the most important transshipment port in eastern Yanjing. Lin Mou looked at Dongyang Hao with narrowed eyes, and his previous words were half true and half false. Without considering pirates, only counting on a thousand-stone cargo ship, it would take no more than half a month for a thousand stones of rice to sail from Chongzhou to Yanjing, and a round trip would take only two months. After deducting labor costs, you can make a net profit of 300 taels of silver; transporting goods from the north to the south for sale can also make another profit. Except for the non-navigation season, three or four trips can be made in a year, which is indeed a lucrative business. If the Great Viet Dynasty could revive and govern, Lin Mou would like to become a carefree and happy big merchant, but the Great Viet Dynasty is now precarious and gloomy, and it's feared that revival and governance are unlikely.

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  "Director Lin, you were here all along..." Zhao Qinmin had something to find Lin Zhen about and saw him talking to someone on the dock side. He hailed from afar and walked over, approaching closer and looking puzzled at Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting's unfamiliar faces. Just as he was about to speak to Lin Zhen, he felt that some things were not convenient to mention in front of outsiders, so he only asked, "Are these two Director Lin's friends?"

  "Mr. Zhao has arrived at the right time, just as Commander and Governor Gao are about to arrive at the river mouth in plain clothes," Lin said, not caring what Li Zhuo was thinking in his heart. He ordered the guard beside him, "You go to Prison Island and let Yang Dianwei lead a team of guards to come to the river mouth to escort Commander and Governor Gao safely." He also ordered another person, "You take my token and ride a fast horse to quickly report to Vice Envoy Gu at the Surveillance Commissioner's Office that Commander and Governor Gao have arrived at the river mouth..."

  Li Zhuo finally came back to his senses and blocked the way, "You don't have to be like this, we'll stay for a moment and then leave."

  "It's really hard for me to follow orders," Lin Xie bowed and said, "The governor's carriage has arrived in Jiangning, if I knew about it but didn't report it, and something unexpected happened to the governor outside the city, my official hat wouldn't be enough to atone for my crime... please don't put me in a difficult position..."

  In the southeastern provinces, there were only two or three people who could be called "Du Shuai". Zhao Qinmin instantly knew what identity these two men dressed as scholars had. He hastily tidied up his clothes and gave a long bow to Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting: "Student Zhao Qinmin sees Du Shuai, Gao Da Ren..."

  Li Zhuo watched as the two guards who followed Lin Xian left quickly to report to various places after receiving the order, knowing that his whereabouts in Jiangning could no longer be concealed. He had a mind to go with the flow and follow others' troubles, but he wanted Lin Xian and Zhao Qinnan to accompany him for a stroll at the river mouth.

  Yang Shi quickly led a team of prison guards to the river mouth; The Surveillance Commissioner, Jia Pengyu, and the Deputy Surveillance Commissioner, Gu Wuchen, did not rush over in a hurry, letting Yang Pu lead more than 200 cavalrymen to reinforce the river mouth's defenses as a precaution. Yang Pu also had an important task to verify Li Zhuo's identity, after all, it wouldn't do for a large group of officials from Jiangning to come and welcome someone, only to find out they were welcoming an imposter. After nightfall, the Jiangning Garrison's elite troops took over the river mouth's defenses with orders signed jointly by Qin Chengbo, Wang Xueshan, Jia Pengyu, and others. Several warships also patrolled the waterways outside the river mouth.

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  PS: Still recovering from a cold, feeling weak all over and mentally numb. I'll update one chapter first, brothers please give me some red votes to encourage me!